Defending national champion Kentucky is down—and already out of the NIT—but is reloading with elite talent.

No. 2 prospect Julius Randle, a 6-9 power forward from Plano, Texas, announced Wednesday that he will join John Calipari’s team in the fall. That means six of the top 15 recruits in the class will be Wildcats.

“Next year, I’ll be playing for the University of Kentucky,” he said on ESPN. “I love all the schools and all the coaches, but the final straw came to me was the system. I felt like the system at Kentucky was a great system, and they have a lot of great players going in there and you’re going to have to battle.”

That means UK has the No. 1 recruit at four of the five positions on the court and still is in the running for the other. No. 1-rated recruit Andrew Wiggins, a small forward from Huntington Prep in West Virginia, is undecided but is considering Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina and Kansas.

“I think, like they did the year before (winning the national title with a freshman-dominated team in ‘12) the team was a unit and I played USA basketball with a lot of great players," he said Wednesday. "I think I’ll adjust well, and it’s a great fit for me.

“To be able to battle with those guys every day in practice is only going to make me better, help me prepare for the next level. Playing with great players, it was a plus for me, it wasn’t a negative at all.”

Simply, Randle is a beast and will have an instant impact on college basketball next season. He’s a matchup nightmare because he has the shooting touch to knock down perimeter jump shots but the ballhandling skills to drive and the power to overwhelm opponents on the low block. He’s also adept at the mid-range game, too, hitting pull-up jumpers and turnarounds and fade-away shots. He also works hard on the glass and will fill up a box score in a variety of ways. He must improve his defensive skills on the perimeter and extend the range on his jumpshot, but otherwise is a near perfect prospect.

Randle recently led Prestonwood Christian Academy to the state championship in Texas. During his five games in the state playoffs, he averaged 28.8 points and 15 rebounds, according to The Dallas Morning News.